Nearly 900 OSU Institute of Technology students have received a special invitation to join the National Society of Leadership and Success for the fall 2020 semester.
A program under Student Life, the NSLS is the nation's largest leadership honor society with 715 chapters and over 1 million members. Membership into this prestigious honor society is by invitation only. The program targets students who have at minimum six completed credit hours and at least a 2.75 GPA.
Students who have been selected received an invitation letter via email and to their home address. The deadline to join NSLS is Sept. 24.
"Student Life is excited to offer this program for a second semester here at OSUIT," said Kamie Crawford, director of Student Life and NSLS chapter adviser. "NSLS inducted 57 students in the virtual spring 2020 induction ceremony, and we're looking forward to kicking off another successful semester."
This semester, all activities and events will be virtual, including induction. The virtual speaker events, which attendance is required of the NSLS members, are open to the campus if space allows for the virtual platform.
"This semester has a great lineup of notable speakers including Tanya Acker, Jack Black, Bill Nye and Matthew McConaughey," said Crawford. "Having access to these types of speakers is a great benefit this honor society adds to OSUIT."
Each student invited to the program may join NSLS by submitting their nomination code, received in their invitation, online and paying a one-time membership fee of $95 directly to NSLS.
The fall 2020 membership includes an additional $4.99 shipping fee to mail all induction contents to a virtual induction member.
OSUIT is offering a need-based waiver that covers the cost of membership for 25 students. Students interested in applying for the Dean of Student's NSLS waiver will submit an application by midnight Sept. 21 to be considered. All nominated students should have also received an email with additional information on the waiver.
"The Dean of Student's NSLS Wavier was created based on our students not having to choose between paying the registration fee for NSLS and paying their bills or food expense for the month," said Crawford. "We know our students work hard, and that some would jump at the chance to Join NSLS if they just had the funding. That's where this waiver comes in. And to be honest, it's those students who take advantage of what this program has to offer, learn from it and grow the most."
The membership includes access to scholarships and awards, an online job bank, member newsletter, broadcast speaker archive, online job bank, success talks, Motivational Mondays, success coaches and partner benefits and discounts.
The program in itself is a journey of self-discovery and soft skill training that is laid out in steps to become an inducted member. Upon induction, there are additional leadership certifications that students can strive for and continuing leadership opportunities in assisting with future facilitation of the program on campus as student mentors and ambassadors.
The fall 2020 virtual induction ceremony will be held at the end of the fall semester. A student will need to complete the program by attending and/or participating in four main activities and training within one semester to reach induction: orientation, Leadership Training Day, three speaker series broadcasts and three Success Networking Team Meetings.
Once inducted, the student will receive a member T-shirt and pin, additional awards and scholarships. A stole and honor cords for graduation can be purchased on the NSLS webpage, and personalized letters of recommendation are available to any inducted member.
"I loved seeing the progression of each student during the spring 2020 program," said Crawford. "I got to witness goals being set and achieved by each member and watch as they applied the knowledge learned in the program to their lives, schoolwork and small group teams within the program. These skills go beyond the classroom, and they are lifelong skills that will allow them to be even more successful as they leave OSUIT and pursue their careers."
NSLS is the only honor society providing accredited leadership development programs. The program is accredited by AdvancED –the parent organization to Northwest Accredited Commission (NWAC), North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI).
This program is made possible by a grant Student Life received through NSLS that assists with development of new chapters. The grant will cover the entire first-year cost of the program and facilitation, including leadership program content, speaker series, dedicated chapter support, website portal, promotional materials, scholarship program and membership tracking.
For additional questions or details about the program, visit the OSUIT NSLS page or contact Kamie Crawford at osuitnsls@okstate.edu.